‘Yeh bhatka hua naujawan hai’ – Fans react as Star India batter expresses his admiration for Babar Azam ahead of Asia Cup 2023, Super 4 clash

The stage is getting set for another epic clash between Team India and Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. They will lock horns with each other on 10 September in Colombo. However, India’s top-order failed miserably in the first meeting against the Men in Green. Gill scored only 10 runs off 32 balls.

However, he showed some form in the next match against Nepal by smashing an unbeaten fifty. Now, he will look to continue in this upcoming clash and on 9 September, he attended the pre-match press conference. There, while talking to the reporters, he claimed that Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is a ‘World Class’ player and confirmed his admiration for him.

“Babar Azam is a world-class player; we watch and admire him.” – Shubman Gill

Babar is currently the number one-ranked batter in ODIs while Gill is in the third spot. He said: “If any player is doing well in any team, everyone looks up to them to know what is the reason behind them doing great. To know what their speciality is. We also look up to all these factors, and definitely, Babar Azam is a world-class player; we watch and admire him.” In the last game, Babar did not get an opportunity to bat as the match got called off due to heavy rain. However, after a 151-run knock against Nepal in the opening game, he had a disappointing outing against Bangladesh in their first ‘Super 4’ clash.      

Gill also opened up on Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi as he heaped praises for their unique abilities. He said: “They are different kind of bowlers. Every bowler has their own area of expertise. I think both of them have separate expertise. Shaheen, as we have seen, mostly swings the ball. Naseem uses pace, and if he is getting help from the wicket, he sets the area accordingly. Both of them are different kind of bowlers who impart different challenges in different conditions and different situations on the opposition.” 

Here is how fans have reacted:

https://twitter.com/KudosKohli/status/1700452980959666581